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mistael · Joined: 25 Sep 2006 Posts: 16

I am kind of jumping the gun here but, my wife is a dual citizen of the US and Macedonia. As you know they are a canidate country of the EU and they have a good chance of joining with Croatia in 2010-2015. It is a small country with only 2 million people.
My question is: How soon after they join the EU do you think the until the citizens of Macedonia will have working rights to other EU countries? This seems like this is my only way in the EU in the near future. I have to live in Macedonia for 1 year if I want to obtain that passport. I am worried it will mess with my US passport so I am waiting. What is the Enlgish teaching like in Macedonia. You think it would be good because they are such a rapidly developing country...

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

It can't hurt your US passport - I would get the Macedonian one if you can.
There is teaching work there, but pay/standard of living is generally low.
There is no way to say how soon after gaining EU membership citizens of Macedonia will have full EU member rights. My spouse is Czech and our options for Europe are still limited. For Macedonia, it will depend on the circumstances at the time - could be quick, could be slow.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

I would advise to get the Mac. passport ASAP because once they are in the EU, they will probably be more picky about who they allow in. Speaking personally, I should be Romanian by descendent, but they are making it very difficult for me to get a passport now that they are in the EU.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Some countries rquire those who acquire citizenship to renounce their original nationality. How would you feel about becoming an ex-American ?

Have you checked what is the position in Macedonia ?

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I'm not sure yet about 2007, but through 2006 we had the right to live/work only in Great Britain, Netherlands, and one other country I can't remember. Spain, Italy, France, Austria etc. still don't allow full EU rights to Czech citizens, but hopefully we will be phased in.

I haven't recently done the research about current regulations because I'm not yet ready to relocate full time to Europe full time, but will do so in 2008.

(We have lived/worked in Czech Rep, Luxembourg, Holland, and now Canada - but all legalities were covered thanks to my spouse's international company). I'm currently living half of each year in the Czech Rep, where we have a small place, and working on curriculum and international projects for a uni in Canada.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Sorry about the redundant posts (I'm jet-lagged!). Please forgive....

I also think there's a distinction, Nature Girl, between a spouse of an EU member citizen and a citizen....I will be eligible for Czech citizenship myself in 2008, and I think this will increase my eligibility, but it's still a country-by-country thing.

There are no blanket EU regulations regarding right to live/work. Brussels hasn't got the power to tell member countries that they must accept citizens from other member states.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Marjanian · Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 16

Mistael, I hope that I'm not too late in answering your question.

Regarding of whether you should get a Macedonian passport, I say go for it, but don't expect to gain much from it. Macedonia is like a cage since the end of communism, and only a few countries (Serbia, Albania, Japan and some others) allow us to visit them without a visa. If a Macedonian wants a job in a foreign country, he usually goes there illegally, works illegally for a couple of years and hopes that he will be given a work permit, which eventually happens. However, you won't have to go through this, because Macedonia allows dual citizenship, which means that you can use your US passports to travel and work.

About joining the EU, everybody knows that it's all about big politics and no one can really predict anything (for example Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and some other countries had a lower standard of living than Macedonia when they joined). Even if that happens in the 2010-2015 period, it would still take a number of years to get all the benefits. So, I can see Macedonia as a successful and relatively prosperous member of the EU with all the benefits that this guarantees in 2020. Can it happen before? Maybe, but nobody can guarantee.